2002-2003 - Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies ...

F R O M T H E D I R E C T O R
Although 2003 was filled with one dramatic development after another, the passing of
Joan B. Kroc, who died on October 12 after a brief battle with brain cancer, marks the year
as a milestone in the life of the Notre Dame institute that bears her name. Indeed, like
every item in this report, the vast majority of Kroc Institute events and initiatives are
planned and undertaken with Mrs. Kroc’s vision of peace in mind, and they are funded as a
direct result of her breathtaking generosity.
In May, two months before she learned of her terminal condition, Mrs. Kroc honored
Father Ted, her longtime friend and ally in the work of justice and peace, by donating $5
million to the Institute. The gift established the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C.,
International Scholarship Fund for Peace and Justice. The fund will provide annual scholarships
for the 10-15 additional graduate students who will be admitted into our expanded,
two-year M.A. program in peace studies.
In October, shortly after
Mrs. Kroc’s death, we received
official notification of her
bequest to the Institute of $50
million. This endowment establishes the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. Fund for
Graduate Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute of the University of Notre Dame. All funds
from the endowment are designated for “the provision of education and training of Kroc
Institute graduate students,” which may entail “. . . the hiring of professional staff and
faculty who have recognized expertise in peace studies, and the development of classroom
education and clinical training.”
Shortly before her death, Mrs. Kroc spoke to me about her dreams
for the Institute, and I was pleased to learn that they included the
training of Ph.D. candidates — a goal to which we shall aspire. Peace
studies as an academic discipline remains relatively young and awaits
further growth and development. Mrs. Kroc realized that if we are to
be seriously committed to crafting viable alternatives to deadly conflict
and systemic social injustice, we must influence the national and
international debate at every level, not least in the academy and in
policy circles. Innovative, effective and humane responses to the multiple
crises of our time — the proliferation of arms, the violation of
human rights, economic exploitation and political repression, the degradation of the environment
— await the methods, insights and proposals of scholars who are not afraid
to tackle normative questions and to place their expertise in the service of building a just
peace. Certainly Notre Dame has a leading role to play in the education and formation of
such scholars.
Already we are playing that role by preparing a generation of Kroc students for further
graduate study toward the Ph.D. — which approximately one third of our alumni pursue
— or for immediate entry into the field. Preparing and supporting this transnational cohort
of professional peacebuilders, as the two gifts of 2003 demonstrate, is the cause to which
Joan Kroc dedicated much of her talent, energy and wealth. Two years ago my colleagues
and I winced, grinned, took deep breaths and rolled our eyes when we formulated a strategic
plan designed to dramatically upgrade our graduate program — and estimated that its
cost would run upward of $40 million. We knew that it would take an angel to transform
our dreams from folly into reality. But we also knew an angel. Little did we suspect that her
faith would far exceed our own.
ANNUS MIRABILIS
Scott Appleby
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